Butterfly Kisses
by Sakura Bloom
Summary: Taichi gets an unexpected visitor on guard duty... Can an innocent moment turn friends into sweethearts?


Untitled

**Butterfly Kisses**  
_by Laura Kamida_  
**Rated G**  
  


It was pitch black. I could feel the fog, really thick like a big bowl of pea soup, all around me, and I didn't dare light a fire to keep myself warm. It would just be a target for anyone that was looking for us. If I could see, I would have seen my breath hang in front of me in a frosty cloud. But as it was, I couldn't see anything.  
  
It was also freezing cold. I held my legs with my arms, trying to hold in all the warmth I could. Poor Agumon, he was so cold I could almost see little icicles hanging off him, so I sent him to bed. I could handle guard duty, I told him, we were in the middle of nowhere and nobody was gonna come get us. Besides, I chided him, I could probably defend myself better than he could defend me. He went to bed grumpily. I guess it was the cold. We were all a little mad.  
  
I heard stirring, and I jumped a little, startled by the sudden noise. _Calm down, buddy_, I told myself. _No need to get antsy, it was probably just one of the others turning over in their sleep. Happens all the time._ I combed my fingers through my mane of hair and settled back down into a subdued state.  
  
Stretching my arms out over my head, I yawned silently and scratched my chest. I felt something around me. I didn't know what, but there was some kind of warmth. Then I heard a footstep, I was sure of my instinct then, there was someone there with me.  
  
"Wh-who's there?" I questioned, trying to sound brave, but my teeth chattering loudly, betraying my courage.  
  
"It's only me, Taichi," Sora said, in her calm voice. I didn't respond, merely humming in reply. "It was too cold to sleep," she explained. "And I figured you needed a little company."  
  
"Oh," I said quietly. I didn't know what the problem was, but every time Sora came around I got kinda subdued, kinda distant. I knew it had something to do with her, but it just confused me so much.  
  
"Is something wrong?" she asked, concerned.  
  
"No," I lied, and she let out a little sigh, letting me know that she knew I wasn't being truthful. The problem was that Sora had been my best friend for so long. I had known her long before we came to the Digital world, and we knew each other so well. Sometimes I was pretty sure she saw me as something more than a friend, but every time I tried to think of her that way, my stomach turned. Not in a bad way, necessarily, like it grossed me out, but it still upset me. And of course, being the friend she was, she picked up on my anxiety right away. And it upset her.  
  
"I guess I'll just go back in and try to go back to sleep again then," she said dejectedly.  
  
"No!" I said suddenly. "I mean, you don't have to," I added. "But, if you want to, I don't mind," I said, quickly trying to cover my tracks.  
  
Suddenly I felt her sit down beside me. "I'll stay," she said quietly. "Otherwise, you'll fall asleep and some big evil Digimon will come and eat us all." I couldn't see her but I could tell she was smiling. She took the blanket that she had been sleeping with and wrapped it around my shoulders. Her arm brushed against my neck and I felt a shiver go up my spine.  
  
I took one end of the blanket from her hand and held it close to my body to keep myself. She settled in beside me, wrapping the blanket around her as well. "Thanks," I said quietly. I felt her head settle on my shoulder, and luckily she didn't notice me tensing up ever so slightly.  
  
"No problem," she whispered back. I could feel her take a deep breath and let it go in a yawn.  
  
Her short, auburn hair brushed up against my cheek and bare neck. "Y-you're not wearing your hat," I said lamely.  
  
"No," she said, giggling, "I don't wear it to sleep, silly," she added. She settled in closer to me and I turned my head, dumbly trying to look at her even though I knew that it was too dark to see anything.  
  
I suddenly felt like telling her that her hair smelled really good, and that I really liked her sitting here beside me, and that I didn't mind it if she stayed here beside me all night, but I didn't know how to put it into words that wouldn't make me sound completely brainless. All these feelings were new to me, and I didn't know how to express them.  
  
She turned her face to me. I blinked rapidly a few times, wondering what she was going to do. I smiled widely; her face was so close to mine that I could feel her eyelashes brushing up against my cheek. Butterfly Kisses, I remembered. When my sister Hikari was a little girl that's what she used to do. I laughed a little bit.  
  
"What's so funny?" Sora asked.  
  
"Nothing," I lied, still chuckling.  
  
"Oh..." she said, drifting off. She didn't sound upset though. "Can you hear me?" she whispered into my ear, almost to quiet for me to hear. I didn't answer; I was puzzled and curious about what she was doing. "Good," she continued. "Taichi Kamiya, I love you," she quickly breathed, then turned her head away, tossing her hair and hitting me in the face with it.  
  
I didn't say anything. I felt warmth creep up through my neck and onto my cheeks... I wasn't exactly sure what to say to her. I should have answered - I should have told her that I could hear what she was saying... Then she wouldn't have admitted it and I wouldn't have heard it and I wouldn't have to worry about it and -  
  
I wouldn't know for sure how she felt about me.  
  
"Ummm... Ummm... Sora?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Ummm... Nevermind."  
  
She turned back to me. There were the butterfly kisses again. I snickered, and she sat back.  
  
"What's so funny?" she repeated impatiently.  
  
"Nothing," I lied, trying to sound cool and confident but failing miserably. "Well, it's something, but I can't tell you. You wouldn't understand. It's kinda dumb."  
  
"Oh..." she said softly. "Taichi?"  
  
"Yeah?" I was wondering if she had gotten up the courage to tell me out loud how she felt. I sort of hoped she would, so it wouldn't be a secret that I knew, but I sort of hoped she wouldn't... because I didn't know how to respond to it. If she told me, I'd have to say something back to her.  
  
"You're my best friend," she said. "You know that, right?"  
  
"Of course!" I chirped quickly. "You're my best friend too!" _I sound like some creepy guy on speed..._ I scolded myself. Or one of those cheesy TV shows where the two characters fell in love just because they were best friends and that's what everyone wanted. I never liked shows that ended up like that.  
  
She blinked a few times, and it was all I could do to keep from laughing. She took several quick breaths, building up her courage, and leaned forward. My eyes widened as I felt something besides her eyelashes hit my cheek. I sat straight up, and she quickly pushed herself away and stood up. The blanket that was wrapped around the two of us fell to the ground behind me, and I heard her breathe a quick apology and run back to where the others were sleeping.  
  
I wasn't sure whether to follow her or not... I mean, she ran off for a reason; she was embarrassed. I know if the situation was reversed, I would have been totally mortified if the person I had just c onfessed my love to followed me.  
  
I stood up anyway. I had to talk to her, had to tell her what I was feeling. She had her turn, and now it was mine. I had to tell her that I was so confused about her that it was eating me up inside, and I just wanted to hug her and tell her everything was OK, I didn't mind that she liked me, I actually kinda liked it myself...  
  
I started to walk, taking slow, quiet, deliberate, steps -  
  
I heard a small scream as I ran into Sora. I quickly reached up and tried to cover her mouth, but only covered her hand, which was over her mouth. "It's me, it's me!" I whispered urgently.  
  
She sighed deeply with relief. "I was just coming back to talk to you," she said. "I wanted to tell you that I'm - "  
  
I cut her off by holding her face in my hands. I still couldn't see her, but I could feel her face tense up. "Sora," I said. "It's okay, I didn't mind it at all. I just want to tell you so many things but I don't know how."  
  
"Like what?" she asked innocently.  
  
"Like I heard what you told me."  
  
She pulled away from my hold. "Oh my God..." she said. "Oh, Taichi..."  
  
"It's okay, it's okay," I said, trying desperately to comfort her. Nothing was working. So I -  
  
... Leaned forward, took a deep breath, and kissed her.  
  
"Shhhhhh..." I whispered to her. I put my face close to hers, close enough that I could feel her soft, rhythmic breaths in time with her beating heart.  
  
"Thank you, Taichi," she whispered, giggling slightly.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Butterfly kisses," she replied softly, kissing me again.  
  



End file.
